Last week, I analyzed the hypotheses set forth in an article entitled “Pseudoscience of Single Sex Schooling” in Science magazine. I tried to refute the article’s key arguments, including the fact that there is no definitive research on the value of single sex education. I promised that I would share with you our Upper School students’ perspectives on the issues raised by the article. To that end, I asked the for their personal views on the advantages and disadvantages of girls schools. While they identified some disadvantages, they outlined many more advantages.
On the negative side, they primarily cited lack of experience with boys, making them awkward or silly when they come in contact with the opposite sex. One suggested that the reading choices in English could be more varied, and one senior felt that girls were more likely to stereotype males when boys were not present.
On the positive side, they repeatedly extolled the self-confidence they gain, the freedom they feel to be themselves, the way they develop their voices and feel comfortable expressing their opinions, and the lack of distractions that allow them to focus on academics. As one junior observed:
There are many more distractions in coed schools and girls are afraid to be themselves and be intelligent. Simple things like getting dressed in the morning turn into wearing the right clothes, putting makeup on, and looking pretty every morning because boys are at your school. . . . At Holton, and many similar all-girls schools, I believe girls are not afraid to be themselves, ask questions, speak up in class, and they are able to participate to their full potential.
Like this student, many girls compared their experience in a coed school with their Holton experience, and they all echoed this girl’s opinion. A tenth grader who attended a local independent school before Holton said, “The academic environment is much more focused [at Holton]. At the coed school I went to before Holton, the guys in my class were very distracting and didn't really care about school or learning.” A new ninth grader took the lack of focus on academics in a coed environment a step farther arguing that, “most of the boys didn't value school as much as I did. They didn't take school seriously and in turn, neither did any of the girls (even the ones who really did like school, like me).” A senior described the advantage from a different angle, saying, “for me, learning at this age is more comfortable without boys. That's not to say I'm not challenging myself; being in the comfort zone socially lets me push myself academically.”
Unconcern about how they look and how they behave also recurred as a theme. A junior observed,
[W]e're all very casual about how we act and look outside of class. I haven't worn makeup to school since I came to Holton, except for perhaps a dozen occasions. We aren't afraid to sit all over each other in the nooks and lounges and people, when they need to, will cry on each other's shoulders without caring because they don't worry about people judging them all the time.
Similarly, a sophomore commented,
I also really like the fact that I don't have to really care about what I'm wearing (ignoring the uniforms) or how I look. I can eat what I want, say what I want, etc. without caring about what some guy thinks about me. This concept has also followed me out in public situations (don't worry, I'm still polite!).
And the same from a senior:
Holton has helped me build my confidence and become my own person without worrying about what other people think. I feel I'm under less peer pressure here than I would be at a coed school because there's no one to impress on a daily basis. I think it's funny how for the first two weeks of school, the new freshman wear makeup, until they realize that no one cares how they look on the outside. They learn to focus on things that really make a difference.
These girls believe that being at Holton has encouraged them to develop their own voices, and not having boys around has made that easier. As one of the juniors explained,
I feel like if there were boys in our classes, I would say very little in class discussions. I think that everyone watches what their "role" is more when there are boys there—they don't want to seem too outgoing, too shy, too nerdy, too ditzy, etc....
A new freshman said,
I also don't dumb myself down anymore, for fear of looking "too smart." In the classroom, I feel like it's okay to ask questions because I know that the other girls in the room are as curious as I am and are probably wondering the same thing.
Likewise, a senior attested to a similar experience. “At Holton you can say anything in class, answer questions, and give input without the worry of people mocking or judging you,” offered the senior.
Another junior highlighted the growth in her confidence that derives from feeling valued:
I certainly believe that a single-sex school has definitely helped me gain confidence and a voice (which I believe is MOST important in the society we live in today). . . . Holton has really showed me that my opinion counts and no one can take it away from me.
A senior recounted similar development:
Coming from a coed middle school, it [i]s amazing how much I have grown in Holton's environment, not only as a student, but also as a person. Holton has made me realize that I don't need to be quiet and that I must seize every opportunity to voice my opinion that I can—and I'm not wrong.
This sense of being comfortable both at school and in who they are permeates their lives. Another new freshman, who previously attended both all-girls and coed schools, declared, “Personally, having tried both coed and all-girls, I like all girls better. It's a more comfortable and open environment. At a coed school there's a lot more drama.” A sophomore put an even more positive spin on the all girls’ experience:
I love being at an all-girls school. I think we are not only more comfortable in the classroom, but also outside the classroom; we are able to act more like ourselves when we are separated from boys. I don’t think I would have nearly as much fun at school if I went to a coed school.
Our students strongly refuted the notion that girls schools exacerbate gender bias. Indeed, in general, their experience suggests the opposite. As a senior posited, "In a classroom setting, girls are allowed to voice their opinions openly because there isn't constant male presence reminding them about the stereotypical gender differences and biases.” One of the new freshmen had a different, but equally definitive, take on the issue:
As for gender stereotypes, I think this is totally false! I have met girls here with all types of interests, passions, and hobbies that do not fit those usually associated with girls. I think that people that have not, or do not, attend a single-sex school assume (like I did) that students in an all-girls school are all alike and act just like girls and all wear pink on free dress days. Maybe there are schools like that, but Holton is not one of them.
A senior drew on her experience to address this question at some length:
I definitely don't think that Holton has reinforced gender differences or encouraged gender biases in any way. If anything, Holton has taught me to challenge stereotypes and "Find a way or make one." The school doesn't offer home ec[onomics] or knitting classes; it offers forensics and engineering. I remember when I took Intro to Engineering in 10th grade, our class was featured in a Washington Post article on women in engineering. Some of the online comments supported women in a male-dominated field, but others were quite degrading, suggesting essentially that girls should stay at home and have children. Seeing these comments gave me a new perspective on gender bias. I had never been discriminated against because of my sex, and, at first, was a little shocked that someone would say something like that. But, because I was confident in myself and my abilities, I didn't give the nasty comments a second thought. Holton taught me to value my own opinion more than someone else's, something I'm not sure would have happened had I gone to a coed school.
We would expect that these Holton girls would be thoughtful about their experience here, examining the pros and cons. However, their responses make it clear that, regardless of definitive proof, the single sex environment provides for them important advantages that they recognize and treasure.
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